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Merck ’s shares have gained +21.2% over the last one year, outperforming the Zacks Large Cap Pharma industry which has gained +7.5% over the same period. Merck’s fourth-quarter results were mixed. However, the Zacks analyst likes Merck’s new products, especially Keytruda, which should continue to contribute meaningfully to the top line.

Merck will continue to focus on cost-cutting initiatives to drive the bottom line. The company has also made significant progress with its pipeline and is working on bringing new products to the market. Merck has also been pursuing acquisitions and business development deals to boost its pipeline. However, generic competition and pricing pressure will continue to pressurize the top line. (You can read the full research report on Merck here. )

General Electric shares have lagged the market over the last three months on concerns about the conglomerate's order backlog and continued weakness in the energy end-market. This issue notwithstanding, the company has done an excellent job of its plan to reduce its exposure to finance and get back to its industrial and engineering roots. General Electric’s multi-billion deal with Baker Hughes is likely to boost the Oil & Gas segment revenues.

General Electric further aims to grow its 3D manufacturing business to $1 billion by 2020 through opportune acquisitions. To that end, it is enjoying strong momentum in the power and aviation end markets, partly offset by continued weakness in the energy space. With a healthy ROI from the Alstom deal, the company has offered a bullish guidance for 2017 and expects a steady rise in operating profits. (You can read the full research report on General Electric here. )

MasterCard has outperformed the Zacks Financial Services Transaction sector over the last one year (up +22.2% vs. +21.2%) and is nearly neck to neck with rival Visa (up +22.3%) Estimates for 2017 have also been rising steadily. The company remains well positioned for growth on the back of its solid market position, ongoing expansion and digital initiatives and significant opportunities from the secular shift towards electronic payments.

Notably, the company has filed for four Blockchain patents as it tries to integrate blockchain-based transactions in its own systems. The proposed acquisition of a major stake in VocaLink will strengthen its electronic payment capabilities. However, escalating costs, a challenging forex environment and legal issues remain concerns. (You can read the full research report on MasterCard here. )

NVIDIA shares have surged over the last one year, gaining in excess of +212% versus the Zacks Semiconductor - General industry’s +36.5% gain. The analyst likes NVIDIA’s sustained efforts toward attaining a robust position in several emerging industries such as Artificial Intelligence (AI), deep learning and driverless cars.

Furthermore, by expanding its business avenues, the company will be able to reduce its dependency on the PC industry, which is currently declining. NVIDIA’s innovative product pipeline and strength in gaming and high-end notebook GPUs remain the positives. The company’s focus on GRID platforms can increase GPU adoption in data centers, giving it an advantage against its competitors. (You can read the full research report on NVIDIA here. )

Zacks' 2017 IPO Watch List

Before looking into the stocks mentioned above, you may want to get a head start on potential tech IPOs that are popping up on Zacks' radar. Imagine being in the first wave of investors to jump on a company with almost unlimited growth potential? This Special Report gives you the current scoop on 5 that may go public at any time.

Zacks Equity Research provides the best of quantitative and qualitative analysis to help investors know what stocks to buy and which to sell for the long-term.

Continuous coverage is provided for a universe of 1,150 publicly traded stocks. Our analysts are organized by industry which gives them keen insights to developments that affect company profits and stock performance. Recommendations and target prices are six-month time horizons.

Strong Stocks that Should Be in the News

Many are little publicized and fly under the Wall Street radar. They're virtually unknown to the general public. Yet today's 220 Zacks Rank #1 "Strong Buys" were generated by the stock-picking system that has nearly tripled the market from 1988 through 2015. Its average gain has been a stellar +26% per year. See these high-potential stocks free >>.

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Past performance is no guarantee of future results. Inherent in any investment is the potential for loss. This material is being provided for informational purposes only and nothing herein constitutes investment, legal, accounting or tax advice, or a recommendation to buy, sell or hold a security. No recommendation or advice is being given as to whether any investment is suitable for a particular investor. It should not be assumed that any investments in securities, companies, sectors or markets identified and described were or will be profitable. All information is current as of the date of herein and is subject to change without notice. Any views or opinions expressed may not reflect those of the firm as a whole. Zacks Investment Research does not engage in investment banking, market making or asset management activities of any securities. These returns are from hypothetical portfolios consisting of stocks with Zacks Rank = 1 that were rebalanced monthly with zero transaction costs. These are not the returns of actual portfolios of stocks. The S&P 500 is an unmanaged index. Visit https://www.zacks.com/performance for information about the performance numbers displayed in this press release.

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At the center of everything we do is a strong commitment to independent research and sharing its profitable discoveries with investors. This dedication to giving investors a trading advantage led to the creation of our proven Zacks Rank stock-rating system. Since 1988 it has more than doubled the S&P 500 with an average gain of +25% per year. These returns cover a period from 1988-2017. Zacks Rank stock-rating system returns are computed monthly based on the beginning of the month and end of the month Zacks Rank stock prices plus any dividends received during that particular month. A simple, equally-weighted average return of all Zacks Rank stocks is calculated to determine the monthly return. The monthly returns are then compounded to arrive at the annual return. Only Zacks Rank stocks included in Zacks hypothetical portfolios at the beginning of each month are included in the return calculations. Zack Ranks stocks can, and often do, change throughout the month. Certain Zacks Rank stocks for which no month-end price was available, pricing information was not collected, or for certain other reasons have been excluded from these return calculations.

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